emmpe

This film immediately reached cult status when first released in Sweden, and has held its position ever since – that is to say, every little boy between 35 and 65 smiles when he hears the word 'Flåklypa'. Its (mainly) low key humor, its characters and their funny names, its fascination with technical things (there actually is a full scale working specimen of the car) and its simple archetypal plot, together with the craftsmanship behind the models used all continue to attract new generations. Maybe the animation technique isn't as outstanding as it once seemed, but that's all right – it does the job but doesn't steal the show in this everlasting little masterpiece from our Norwegian neighbors and rivals.

This movie does not really deserve it´s bad reputation. I´m a great fan of Elmore Leonard´s, and this film is very leonardish, except for the grand finale. Clint Eastwood, the great minimalist, is the perfect cast for a typical Leonard character. It´s not the greatest Western movie ever made, and it´s not Eastwood´s greatest achievement, but it´s definitely worth seeing because of the Leonard-Eastwood combination.

I saw this movie a mighty long time ago, and I laughed like hell. So did everyone else who saw it in those days. It´s a wonderful portrait of the notorious Richard Nixon, demonstrating to the world just how immensely stupid a top politician actually is allowed to be. His statement that "My wife´s got a good republican coat" almost became a proverb at the time, thanks to this movie. So even if it deals with "vintage" matters it has a lot to teach us about what politics is really about.